The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1887-06-30
aush on her cheek deepened to Grim

When the doctor came at noon, he
found her in a high fever. ..Hum !"
he said, with an ominous shake of the
head. II have bin fighting typhoid
symptoms from the first. and it looks
now as if they had gotten the better Of
me, What has occasioned the changer
Have you any idea
The words were hardly spoken before
Mrs. Grant sprang up with a wild
light in her eye, crying, Hush q! they've
come. Did't I tell you so! He alvays
brings them from the mill. / must 20
right down anil get dinner = while, at
the same instant steps were heard on
the piazza below, and a gruff masculine
voice announcing, 'You have a fine
view here, deacon"
Companyr' gasped Aunt Debbv,
and then flew to her charge. for it re-
quired all her own and the doctors
strength to keep her in bed.
All that afternoon she raved: as
there meat enough o Sarah, have
you made the coffee How many. are
they Ten, twanty, oh, hundreds, and
and hundreds How a 1 feed them
allP And Aunt Myra says the bread is
sour; she'll be sure to say it before
them. 0 James !! James!
The success of the dinner party was
never known. The deacon left before
they were seated at the table, and hur-
ried away. panic-stricken, to his wife's
room, whence, a. the sight of him only
increased her rawlings. he was sum.
marily elected by the doctor. All her
wild words burned into his soul, tix,ng
as he afterwards said, the brand of Cain
upon his brow.
There followed weary weeks-weeks
of anxious watching, weeks Of PRAYER
and agony. Even Aunt Myra seemed
strangely subdued, while the deacon
moved about like a man from whom all
hope had been crushed. There seemed
no ground for hope, and yet they hop
ed and waited.
At last came the crisis. 'To-night,"
said the doctor. ''the fever will turn. l
will watch while you both 90 away and
pray:' for he knew we'll that neither
bursting heart could bear the strain Of
that watch.
Aunt Derby threw herself on the
sofa in the little parlor, and lay mo-.
tionless; the deacon went out of doors.
Hour after hour he walked back and
forth in a dumb anguish which could
find no Inference. ever in prayer. AT
last he dragged himself into the parlor,
and said pleadingly, 'Aunt Debby, do
you think there's any hopep"
Eyes, was the calm reply, "there
is great hope for her-that she will
soon be in a land where company is
unknown; and there is hope for you,
too. You can air your favorite text
on her tombstone only I should like
to add a f~ootnote. saying that, in this
instance. the given is used instead of
sacrificed
20 my God !" said the stricken
man. bowling his head upon his hands;
my punishment is greater than I can
bear"
Dear friends" broke in the doctor
"a glad note Of joy in his voice-.1et
us give thanks to the Father. The
\ sweetly."
And they gave thanks, with stream
ing eyes and bated breath; such thanks
as can come only from hearts who
have watched their dearest down
through the death valley into the land
of hope and life. And Aunt Debby
whispered through her tears: Forgive
me James. The anguish had driven
me wild"
Il have nothing to forgive" he an
swered stoutly. 81 deserve it all, and
much more. I can mever forgive my
SELF"
doctor" he continued meekly, after
Aunt Dolby had stolen softly to the
room above, do you think if I were to
send Aunt Myra away entirely, Helen's
chance of recovery would be betterp"
Il think SO, certainly" was the re-
ply. "You see she has been, by her,
on such a constant v strain for
the past two years, that nothing but an
absolute relaxation of the tension can
do her any good"
''Then tomorrow she shall co." said
the deacon emphatieally. And to-mor-
row she went.
DO you know, Deacon Grant," said
DIR. Brownell, n sultry July day, as
he and bis bride fingered over their
dessert of berries and cream in the
deacon's cool dining room. lido you
know it is just five years ago to-day
since I first dined with your"
Give years, is itp" said the deacon.
''Well. Well, it don't seem so long.
They've been the happiest five years of
my life, and I've you to thank that I've
known how to live them"
"Me? Oh, no, not altogether; give a
little thanks to Aunt Debby and the
typhoid fever. By the way, Mrs. Grant.
you don't keep open house now, I
helieve?'
'Open house! No, indeed; not so
open as want it by half;;' and the smile
which lighted up Helen Grant face
had no tinge OF bitterness now. Ihavc
to scold this husband of mine whenever
I want company, and half the time
even the scolding does no good. It's
ridiculous, when I have such an excel
lent girl in the kitchen. and when
Aunt Debby relieves me of almost all
the care Of Harry"-and she turned
with a loving kiss to the three-year-old
monarch enthroned in his high chair by
her side. =
What do you think, docP" said the
deacon dryly; '.she's coaxed and coax
ed. until I've at last. consented to her
asking Aunt Myra here"
Aunt Myra!.. calculated the doctor.
Yes. indeed; why not? the poor old
woman is lonely and half-sick; a
change will do everything for her. Be-
ssdes, I want to prove to you that I've
gained enough grace in the past five
years to enable me to live with any
body"
Grace is an excellent commsdity."